THE SASSAFRAS 



By Mrs. Viola F. Richards. 



'T^ HE sassafras {Sassafras officinale) is found in North 

 •*• America from Canada, where it is only a bush, to Florida 

 where it sometimes reaches a height of fifty feet. It has 

 small greenish-yellow flowers which appear before the leaves 

 and leaves which vary considerably in form as will be seen by 

 the accompanying photograph which shows the upper side of 

 four leaves picked from one small twig. 



The wood of this plant is scjtt, light, and coarse with an 

 agreeable smell and pungent, sweetish taste. The thick spongy 

 bark of the root is used for medicinal purposes. It is a power- 

 ful stimulant, sudorific, and diuretic and is also used in skin 

 diseases. The leaves contain so much muscilage that they are 

 used for thickening soup. 



An agreeable beverage is made by an infusion of sassafras 

 bark or wood and a similar drink was at one time commonly 

 sold in the streets of London under the name of Saloop. 



